Liverpool legend Michael Owen fully believes his old side deserved their controversially awarded penalty at Bournemouth. The Reds continued their march atop the Premier League standings after sealing a 2-0 win at Bournemouth on Saturday.

Mohamed Salah grabbed both goals for Arne Slot's side and opened the scoring from the spot after Lewis Cook was adjudged to have fouled Liverpool forward Cody Gakpo in the box. But there was rampant debate as to whether Cook had in fact made enough contact to warrant punishment.

Referee Darren England pointed to the spot, and once VAR had taken a look, they agreed there was just cause to award a spot-kick. Gary Lineker didn't necessarily agree with that view, but the decision was far more clear-cut for Owen, who offered his thoughts on X after watching the incident on BBC's Match of the Day.

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"Stayed up to watch MOTD anticipating a shocking decision to award Gakpo a penalty," wrote the former Reds forward on X. "It’s an absolute certain penalty. What chance have officials got if half the population think that’s not a pen?"

Match of the Day host Lineker was among those who felt the call was far from obvious. And he appeared to hint the lack of intervention from VAR was once again partly to blame.

"It's one of those soft things that they give penalties for now, which would never have happened a few years ago," said the England legend, suggesting the same incident wouldn't have yielded a penalty in the past. "It's one of those where if he hadn't have given it, they wouldn't have turned it over, either."

Makeshift full-back Cook was caught out of position by Gakpo and attempted to hound the Dutchman down. Arne Slot's forward made the most of any contact he may have felt as his legs were tripped, though Newcastle legend and MOTD pundit Shay Given appeared to align more with Owen's stance.

"When I first saw it live, I thought, 'aw, that's really soft.' And I think a lot of neutral fans up and down the country will probably be thinking the same," said the Irishman.

"The last angle we'll see, he [Cook] does clip him. I know it's accidental, but [they're] the laws of the game.

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"I think it's harsh on Cook, but I think it is the right decision. . .he comes across him, his left leg clips Gakpo's left leg, and for me, it's a penalty."

Fellow pundit and ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown also took a sympathetic stance and appeared to suggest he could see why the penalty was given.

Liverpool remain nine points clear at the top of the table, with second-place Arsenal due to host Manchester City on Sunday.